recourse

[ree-kawrs, -kohrs, ri-kawrs, -kohrs]

noun

1. access or resort to a person or thing for help or protection.

   to have recourse to the courts for justice.

2. a person or thing resorted to for help or protection.

3. the right to collect from a maker or endorser of a negotiable instrument. The endorser may add the words “without recourse” on the instrument, thereby transferring the instrument without assuming any liability.

recourse

/ rɪˈkɔːs /

noun

1. the act of resorting to a person, course of action, etc, in difficulty or danger (esp in the phrase have recourse to )

2. a person, organization, or course of action that is turned to for help, protection, etc

3. the right to demand payment, esp from the drawer or endorser of a bill of exchange or other negotiable instrument when the person accepting it fails to pay

4. a qualified endorsement on such a negotiable instrument, by which the endorser protects himself or herself from liability to subsequent holders

Word History and Origins

Origin of recourse¹

1350–1400; Middle English recours < Old French < Late Latin recursus, Latin: return, retreat, noun use of past participle of recurrere to run back; recur

Word History and Origins

Origin of recourse¹

C14: from Old French recours , from Late Latin recursus a running back, from _re- + currere to run

Example Sentences

The high court’s decision leaves Maxwell with little recourse beyond seeking clemency from the president.

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But when every other recourse fails, few other avenues remain.

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The Jordanian ministry did not answer questions about Hammad, but legal experts say governments have little recourse to repatriate their citizens if they signed a contract, unless they can prove they did so under duress.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But it was on vaccines where the president made perhaps his most alarming comments without any recourse to science or statistics.

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Emmanuel Macron's immediate recourse has been to entrust a member of his inner circle to pioneer a new approach.

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Related Words

• remedy